You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Acts 7:51
Humans are called to live in obedience to God’s will. But, the history of the Israelites shows that although at first, they were willing to obey and even promised God to do every commandment, they still failed to do so at the end.
Not long after the first Pentecost that took place in Jerusalem, churches started to expand and grow. Many people came to the Lord and became believers. At the same time, there was resistance from the Israelites who considered Christians as a heretical group that tried to change the system of Jewish religious beliefs and laws which they had adopted for more than fifteen hundred years. The Jews started to capture and persecuted Christians. Stephen was one of the Christians who was persecuted. When the Jews put Stephen on trial, he gave them a summary of the failure of the nation of Israel before the Lord that happened repeatedly. He then concluded that the real problem was that they resisted the Holy Spirit. Resisting the Holy Spirit is a sin because that means that we are rejecting the only way we can come to Him who is able to save us.
When we are resisting the Holy Spirit, it means that, first, we’re going against the truth. He is the “Spirit of Truth” that will lead us to righteousness, John 15:26. Second, we are refusing the Lord’s desire to live with us. “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19. Third, we are resisting/refusing His help. “Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:26. Fourthly, we are refusing the victory that had been prepared for us. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15. Fifth, we are refusing eternal life. The Holy Spirit “is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:14. And sixth, we are refusing/rejecting the grace of salvation in Jesus. “Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3.
People resist/go against the Holy Spirit in various ways. The first one is by rejecting Him or even mocking Him. The second one is by rebelling or grieving Him. Specifically, for those of us who are born again, the Holy Spirit lives within us. He will guide, teach, and reprimand believers. When believers reject the Holy Spirit, they are also refusing the work of the Holy spirit. They ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit, up to the point where they can’t even hear the soft voice of the Holy Spirit any longer. The third way humans resist the Holy Spirit is by knowingly going against His guidance. This happens when they deliberately go against God’s Word they have already heard.
As children of God, let us love the Holy Spirit and let us be willing to be guided by Him. Jesus bless you!
Source: Article from GBI Gatot Subroto, Jakarta